Mumbai blasts result of UPA's soft approach: BJP

New Delhi, July 15: Charging the Centre of taking a soft approach towards terrorism, the Delhi BJP today said terrorist attacks in various parts of the country in the last few years were a result of the Congress-led UPA Government's pursuit of vote bank politics at the cost of security of the country.

''The Mumbai blasts, which occured on July 11, is not an isolated incident. Terrorist incidents in the country have been on an increase in the last two years. During this period, the terrorists have attacked the National capital, Ayodhya, Kashi and Bangalore.

Unfortunately, the UPA Government led by the Congress, instead of taking terrorism head on, has sent consistent signals that the initiative against terrorism can be traded for votes,''Senior BJP leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra told mediapersons here.

Addressing a press conference here along with Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Jagdish Mukhi and BJP leader Harsharan Singh Balli, Mr Malhotra said that in a joint letter written to President A P J Abdul Kalam by him, Mr Mukhi and the leader of the Opposition in the MCD Subhash Arya, the party had expressed concern and shock over the rising terrorist incidents and the UPA Government's failure in their approach and method of containing terrorism.

''The UPA has created an environment wherein the infrastructure of terrorism can breed, promote itself and subsequently create havoc in the country,''the letter, handed over by a BJP delegation to Delhi Lt Governor B L Joshi this morning, said.

''Recent terrorist attacks have yet again brought to the fore the need for an anti-terrorism law both at the national and the state level,''the BJP letter says.

Mr Malhotra said that despite the fact that the Pakistan Government had not fulfilled commitments made to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in January 2004 that any territory under its control would not be used for cross-border terrorism, the UPA Government had been carrying on with peace talks with the neighbouring country.

''Only now have they realised the futility of holding talks till cross-border terrorism come to an end. Hence, their decision to call off the forthcoming peace talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries,''Mr Malhotra said.

Today and tomorrow, all state units of the BJP are holding a rally to voice their concern over rising incidents of terrorism in the country and submit a meorandum to the Governers of the respective states, Mr Malhotra said.

UNI